Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis Studia Naturae (Dec 2016)
Management and environmental education in Veľká Fatra National Park (comparison with other parks of Visegrad Group)
Abstract
The present study deals with the evaluation of the management of Veľká Fatra National Park and its comparison with three other selected national parks of the Visegrád Four: Bohemian Switzerland National Park (Czech Republic), Bieszczady National Park (Poland) and the Bükk National Park (Hungary). The information about Veľká Fatra National Park was acquired through a SWOT analysis. The weaknesses and threats found following the SWOT analysis were further evaluated by an analysis of the "force field" and a "problem analysis". The management applied in individual parks was evaluated through the expert system Integrated Protected Area Management (IPAM) with the aim to improve the present management. Another part of the examination is the evaluation of the environmental edification and of the consciousness of students of grammar schools and secondary schools, both in the region where the National Park is located and outside that region. The examination for this study was carried out between 2010-2014. A survey of the environmental consciousness and edification has been implemented in all surveyed countries and the tool of exploratory method was a questionnaire, which was distributed to 1301 respondents. The survey managed to confirm the assumption that in some areas the level of environmental consciousness of the target group is very low. This situation is justified by the fact that schools do not have a precise definition in what form and to what extent attention should be paid to this field. Another reason is the insufficient cooperation between schools and National Parks.
